Empowering businesses will create jobs

MARCH 30, 2016: Businesses looking to export are the big winners from a new Coalition Government initiative to provide quick and easy access to trade information.A new FTA Portal will help local businesses take full advantage of Australia’s free trade agreements with the three north Asian powerhouse economies of China, Japan and South Korea. Opportunities for small and medium businesses to diversify are crucial right now and this tool will help make that happen. Many businesses are looking to export but are uncertain about how to go about it and whether they are price competitive.The new FTA Portal seeks to answer those questions. It provides free and accurate information on tariffs under the FTAs so small and medium businesses can easily work out how price competitive they will be.The Portal also has Australian and international trade data and an innovative step-by-step system to help businesses assess whether their product is likely to meet the requirements of the agreements.Whether you’re a niche market food manufacturer or a mining equipment business, the FTA Portal displays the right information for the right product through a quick and easy search.The new FTA Portal is just one of the ways the Liberal National Government is helping small to medium businesses take full advantage of the significant competitive benefits offered by the FTAs in order to create jobs and economic growth for the Burdekin.It aims to harness the innovation of the private sector, by making the information freely available to app developers so clever, tailored apps can be developed that provide even more helpful information to the SME sector.The FTA Portal is: https://ftaportal.dfat.gov.au/